A DUI case, where both passenger and driver had extremely high blood alcohol levels that contributed to the passenger's death in a bizarre accident involving mailboxes, the driver has avoided felony charges, as reported by the St. Petersburg Times from Tampa Bay.
K.N.J., 26, originally was facing up to 20 years in prison for two charges of felony due to the death of his passenger, A.G. Instead, he pleaded guilty to DUI and to one other misdemeanor charge.
He was sentenced to one year of probation.
V.G., the victim's mother, said that the plea deal made with prosecutors was "a knife in my back" as she lost her "pride and joy" in the accident. She said, "I still wait for her to call or come home.
It's not easy to say I have three, not four, girls."
A.G. was fatally injured in the incident when she leaned out of K.N.J.'s truck and struck her head on mailboxes.
K.N.J.'s blood alcohol level was between 0.10 to 0.12 and A.G.'s blood alcohol level was 0.22. The legal driving limit is 0.08.
New evidence was turned up during the investigation that caused prosecutors to change their opinion as to fault in the accident.
The July 2009 incident occurred as follows: K.N.J. drove A.G., and her friend A.S., from one bar to another where the three had whiskey mixed with energy drinks and beer. When the three left the second drinking establishment, K.N.J. drove down Lakes Boulevard in Pinellas Park.
Per court records, A.G., bouncing around in her passenger seat while listening to music, leaned out of the car's window and struck her head against the mailboxes.
Police, and prosecutors, both visited the scene during the course of the investigation and reconstructed the accident.
A charge of DUI and DUI manslaughter were considered, per Assistant State Attorney Scott Rosenwasser, and they finally settled on DUI manslaughter.
It appeared that K.N.J. "caused or contributed to the cause" of A.G.'s death as he had driven too close to the mailboxes on the right side of the road.
A.G. was also found to be somewhat responsible, for leaning out of the moving vehicle.
It was during an interview with an emergency room nurse that lawyers learned that K.N.J. had reported that he had removed his hand from the steering wheel - just to try and reach for A.G. and pull her back into the truck. Instead, that movement cause the truck to swerve further to the right.
Rosenwasser said that with the new information "we couldn't prove his criminal responsibility beyond a reasonable doubt" and "because had she not been leaning out the window, he would not have drifted to the right and she would not have hit her head on the mailboxes."
Now it looked as though A.G. was indeed more responsible for her fate than what was originally thought.
V.G., not only unhappy about the change in criminal charges, also takes issue with the two bars that served her daughter alcohol that night. A.G. was only 20 years old.
Criminal charges stemming from DUI, DWI, OUI or OWI can result in the loss of driving privileges, fines and jail time. Contact a DUI attorney as soon as possible to assist you in avoiding these issues.